Sandra Benitez Visits Anoka-Ramsey Community College
Benitez was as enthralling in person as she is through her stories. The animation in her voice as she speaks about her novels and her own life shows her true passion: writing. Benitez didn’t always want to be a writer though, when she was younger she didn’t have any idea what she was destined to be. When she was born Benitez had an identical twin, who died a few months later from complications, but she grew up happy just the same. Her Mother was Porto Rican and her Father was a farm boy from Unionville Missouri. They met in Washington D.C and married soon after. Her father joined the foreign forces when she was still really young and the whole family moved to Mexico. She grew up in a lavish house and always had servants while she was young. That’s where she found out the importance of stories. In Mexico there was no middle class, either you were poor or you were rich at that time and she was considered to be rich. Benitez’s servants were mostly illiterate and would have her read their letters to them, and then write responses back as well. While reading she would ask questions and would be observant, trying to read the people she was speaking with. Through this process she learned all about these servants lives and what their stories were.
Reading was very important in her life too. She would read anything and everything she could find just to learn about someone else, and their story. Now she says, “It’s all about story. That is why we text, twitter, and e-mail.”
When she turned fourteen her Father sent her to America to live with her Grandparents to become more Americanized. When she got there life was immediately very different for her. She was used to having servants and getting whatever she needed with out having to do it herself as she said in her own words, “I was a bit of a spoiled brat before that.” Her grandparents home had no running water but instead had an outhouse, and was with out servants. Benitez was absolutely amazed by the outhouse, for it had two seats and she never understood why. Later she was told it was for mothers with children who all needed to go to the bathroom at the same time. From then on she never lived with her family again.
Later in life she married a man from Missouri and moved to Minnesota and has now resided here for 45 years. Then she became a teacher, and began taking writing classes as well when she became to stressed with her regular work. Benitez then started writing at the age of 39. Her first novel she wrote was a mystery murder and when she had a critic review it at a convention he said it was, “flushable.” For a few weeks Benitez was very surprised and upset with this view. Then one day she realized it was flushable and she said her goodbyes to it, and put it under her bed as a sacrifice and it is still under her bed today.
Benitez published her first book in 1973 after thirteen years of trying to get it published. She still gets scared every time she starts a new novel and worries about her characters. Now Benitez waits for the characters to speak to her, and that is how The Weight of All Things came to be. A boy by the name of Nicholas spoke to her in her mind, begging her to tell his story. From there on he lead her through the journey in this book and became a best seller, and won Benitez many awards. Benitez shared some insight with us, “ The simplest things can change our entire lives,” and for her it was listening to Nicholas, learning with him about the story he became.
Article By: Melissa Holthaus
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